A New Love of Christmas
by Karen LaManna
Summary: With Lee and Amanda's new relationship heating up and with their new engagement, will Lee be able to find and change his feelings about the Christmas season. Will he remain his Scrooge-like appearance or will he be able to find a new love of Christmas? This is a post-ep story for Santa's Got a Brand New Bag. Read on and enjoy. Merry Christmas everyone! One-Shot


**A New Love of Christmas**

 **A/N: Merry Christmas to all my fellow SMK fans and friends. I hope you all enjoy my Christmas gift to you. I know it's only a one-shot, but I do apologize. My life has been extremely stressful as of late, but I didn't want to break my promise. I managed to knock this out last weekend. I have had school for work and I moved in the midst of everything. I managed to move on Friday and still leave for my family Christmas yesterday. I am here in sunny Florida until Jan. 3** **rd** **2018.**

 **Stay safe and enjoy this joyous holiday season with much love and surrounded by friends and family. Happy New Year and I will be writing more stories in the upcoming new year. God Bless everyone! Goodnight to all and to allll a goodnight. Much love…**

After finally making it to Amanda's house, Lee and Amanda settled in for the remainder of the Christmas Eve's activities. They were both starving and enjoyed their goose dinner. Dotty and Aunt Lillian did a wonderful job in preparing the meal.

The boys and Joe were able to get a grand fire going in the fireplace which made the scene nice and cozy. While they ate, Aunt Lillian of course, made good of the time. She couldn't wait to grill the couple on their relationship, especially Lee. Naturally, she wanted to make sure that Lee's intentions towards Amanda were admirable and respectable.

The whole time Lee looked like a deer caught in headlights and was totally uncomfortable. He couldn't wait until the inquisition was over, all he could think about was hightailing out of there. On the other hand, Amanda was mortified and nervous that Aunt Lillian would scare him away.

As it was, she practically dragged Lee into the house kicking and screaming. She knew exactly what his feelings were when it came to the holidays and family gatherings. Amanda did everything she could to get both her mother and Aunt Lillian to change the subject.

Lee kept looking over at Amanda with pleading eyes. Her heart truly went out to him as she strongly grasped his hand in hers, squeezed it and held on for dear life. Although, she gave him a lot credit, he was being a good sport and holding his own.

Aunt Lillian, especially, was making him sweat bullets. He sat there and wondered why he hadn't just gone to see Bernie. It would've have been better than facing the firing squad, that was the force of Aunt Lillian. He swore to himself, that she was eyeing him like a piece of meat. _Nahhh, couldn't be, could it?_ But,then he remembered why he'd stayed. He knew if he'd left, it would've broken Amanda's heart. And, he would never want to upset or hurt her. He knew and remembered that the holidays meant the world to her. And, if he was being honest with himself, he was actually enjoying being around the family. Inquisition and all!

It was nice to be included and he enjoyed the closeness and the love of this family. He was so used to watching and listening from the backyard and now here he was, sitting amongst all of them. It felt great to be around Amanda's warm family.

While Aunt Lillian's questioning continued, the boys and Joe were busy engaged with the miniature piano that Joe had bought for them. Dotty went into the kitchen to tidy up and was washing the remaining dishes.

Within a few minutes, Dotty called out. "Lillian, can you please help me with the dessert and the hot chocolate?" Lillian quickly replied, "On my way, my dear sister." At that, she grabbed her glasses and headed into the kitchen.

Dotty smiled and began to easily move around getting things ready. "Ohh Amanda—"

Amanda cut her off and called out. "Yes Mother, I'll get the marshmallows out of hiding."

The whole room broke out into laughter, even Lee joined in. He remembered when Amanda told him that she was the only one who knew where she hid the marshmallows. He knew then, exactly what he knew now. No one could ever replace his Amanda, she was the best thing in his life and would always be.

He leaned over towards Amanda and whispered in her ear. "Saved by the bell. What's next?"

Amanda kissed him softly, giggled and quietly replied. "I'm sorry about the interrogation. You did great though. And, to answer your question, we each unwrap one gift while we have our dessert. The rest are opened tomorrow."

Lee's faced turned red with a sheepish look. "I'm sorry again that I left mine at the apartment. I didn't know, I was going to wait until tomorrow."

Amanda caressed his cheek and smiled. "Awww Sweetheart, it's fine. Remember mine for you is at the Q Bureau. We'll exchange tomorrow, I'm just glad you are here with us. You are still coming tomorrow, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, honey!" Lee truthfully replied.

"A-man-daaaa, dear," Dotty impatiently called out.

Amanda stood up. "Comingggg Motherrrr!" She hurriedly made her way to her secret hiding spot and grabbed the marshmallows.

The rest of evening went by with everyone talking, eating, laughing and exchanging gifts. A good time was had by all, especially Lee. He was grateful when the questions came to an end. He felt so much more at ease as he truly felt the love and comfort being amongst the King family, even Joe to an extent.

It was nearly midnight when Lee and Amanda started their goodbyes. Joe left over an hour ago and the rest of the house had been fast asleep for nearly an hour. After they both kept their promise to finish the clean-up, they managed to spend the rest of time in each other's arms while they made out like a couple teenagers.

"So, what time do you want me here tomorrow, lovely lady?"

"Sweetheart, can I ask you something?"

He suddenly became a little nervous and it showed as he answered her right away. "Sure, anything."

She carefully began. "First, I'm sorry about the third degree from Aunt Lillian and Mother. I know it made you very uncomfortable, but thanks for being a good sport. I also remember that you are not fond of Christmas and you could take it or leave it, and I appreciate that you stayed and that you did it just for me. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. I would understand if this is all too much for you. So, are you sure that you still want to come tomorrow?"

Lee grinned and chuckled once she finished her ramble. It took a little while to get used to them, but he now knew he secretly got a kick out of them and loved her all the more for it. He knew he loved everything about the woman standing in front of him. He could never imagine his life without her.

He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Once Amanda was tucked in against him, she placed her arms around his neck and they shared a chaste kiss before he replied. "I hope you know how much I love you, honey! I never thought I would ever be this lucky and happy. The best day of my life was the day we met and I thank god everyday for bringing you into my life. You have taught me so much. Because of you, I have learned to truly love and want to continue to change myself and my life. You make me a better person, someone I actually like more now and someone who wants to share all the good and all the bad with you for the rest of our lives."

Amanda sniffled as a few tears began to run down her cheeks. "Ohhh Lee, I love you too!"

Lee cleared his throat and tenderly wiped her tears away. "I'm not done yet, beautiful! I still have a confession yet. I have to admit that I had a great time tonight. The reason I never liked Christmas was because, I don't have any good memories. I don't remember my folks much and of course, the Colonel didn't know how to enjoy Christmas, except to spend it with his troops. I am quite used to spending it alone with my sports, champagne and guacamole dip. But, spending here tonight with your family really opened my eyes to what I have been missing. I felt loved and accepted. The only other Christmas I truly enjoyed was our first Christmas as partners stranded in that cabin with Janis and the brothers. You saved my life that night in more than one way. I now know I want it all, you, the boys, your mother and even Aunt Lillian. I love being part of a family. So, yes, I want to spend tomorrow here with all of you. It would be my honor!"

Amanda was quiet for a few moments as she continued to gaze into Lee's handsome face. Before she finally spoke up, she took a deep breath. "I love you, Lee Stetson! You've made me the happiest woman I have ever been. We are the luckiest two people in the world."

Lee grinned and they shared a few chaste kisses. "I love you too, Amanda King! I know we are lucky, we have each other and a great family. Just promise me that you will never give up on me or us? How about 9:00 and I will bring some freshly made bearclaws for my contribution for breakfast? And, I'll even eat."

Amanda giggled and retorted. "You breakfast, omigosh? Another Christmas miracle."

He shook his head. "Heyyy, no picking on me, I'm trying here."

She continued to giggle uncontrollably. "I know you are, Sweetheart. Bearclaws and 9:00 sounds wonderful. Ohhh, and mister I will never give up on you or us. You are a part of me and you are stuck with us now, no matter what Stetson."

Lee grinned like a Cheshire cat. "I wouldn't have it any other way, honey! One more kiss than I'm outta here."

They shared one more extremely passionate kiss and finally broke apart when the need for air became too great. She stood on her porch and watched her future as he made it to his car in the beautiful backdrop of the snow. As Amanda continued to wave at her best friend, partner and lover he roared out of sight.

Lee couldn't help himself and smiled all the way home back to Georgetown. To say he was a happy man, would definitely be an understatement. He definitely found a new love for Christmas in everyway possible.

THE END

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